March 03, 2011

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The Pentagon and the defense for the Army private accused of leaking thousands of military records and diplomatic cables to online publisher WikiLeaks traded charges and counter-charges Thursday over his treatment at the Marine Corps Brig in Quantico, Va.

The most dramatic charge came Thursday afternoon when a lawyer for Pfc. Bradley Manning claimed that Brig authorities ordered Manning to strip naked in his cell for virtually the entire night on Wednesday.

"Last night, PFC Manning was inexplicably stripped of all clothing by the Quantico Brig. He remained in his cell, naked, for the next seven hours. At 5:00 a.m., the Brig sounded the wake-up call for the detainees. At this point, PFC Manning was forced to stand naked at the front of his cell," defense lawyer David Coombs said in a post on his blog. Coombs said Manning's clothing was returned shortly after 5 a.m. Thursday.

"This type of degrading treatment is inexcusable and without justification. It is an embarrassment to our military justice system and should not be tolerated. PFC Manning has been told that the same thing will happen to him again tonight. No other detainee at the Brig is forced to endure this type of isolation and humiliation," Coombs said.

"I can confirm that he was stripped of his underwear. It was a situationally-driven event and I can’t discuss the details of it without violating the detainee’s privacy" a spokesman for the Marine base, Lt. Brian Villiard said Friday morning. "The actions take are within the guidelines of the Naval Corrections Manual as well as local standard operating procedures."

The claim that Manning is being humiliated by brig guards came after Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell did interviews Thursday rejecting claims that Manning is being subjected to unduly harsh treatment as he awaits a possible court martial in connection with the alleged leaks.

"Certainly some on the far left, a couple of Web sites in particular, I guess one of the shows on this network has also made an issue of it saying that he`s being held in solitary confinement, he`s being harshly treated, treated differently that the other detainees down there," Morrell told MSNBC, adding that he and the Pentagon's top lawyer recently visited the brig to see the situation for themselves.

"It`s not solitary in the sense there`s 30 people on a U-shaped, you know, corridor. So, he`s not in a hole, he`s not away from others. He`s allowed to have conversations with others," Morrell said.

Morrell added that some of the strictures were due to concerns that other inmates might try to harm Manning. "This is as much for his own good as it is because of the charges," the press secretary said.

"While it is true that PFC Manning is not technically held in solitary confinement, the cumulative effect of his confinement conditions are tantamount to solitary confinement," Coombs continued. "There are no other detainees on either side of PFC Manning. His cell does not have a window or any natural light. If PFC Manning attempts to speak to others that are several cells away from him, the guards will likely p[view] it as disruptive and require him to stop speaking. Other than the one hour a day that he is taken to an empty room to walk around, PFC Manning is required to remain in his cell."

Manning has been in custody since May and was transferred to Quantico last July.

In a conference call with reporters Thursday, Mannings' supporters also decried his treatment at the brig. David House, a friend of Manning who has visited him repeatedly, said Manning's mental condition deteriorated markedly in recent months, likely to due his relative isolation in the 23-hour lockdown.

"Beginning in November, something began to change," House said "His condition kept getting worse. There was some physical trembling." Eventually, Manning became largely noncommunicative during visits, House said. He acknowledged, however, that Manning's "catatonia" had improved somewhat in recent weeks and that Manning can receive visitors for up to three hours on weekends.

Under basic American legal principles, pretrial detention is not intended to be punitive, since all defendants are presumed innocent. However, House said Manning's treatment is so tough that it amounts to punishment.

"Bradley Manning is being punished," House said. "The U.S. government wants him to crack."

UPDATE: This post has been updated with more details from the conference call organized by Manning's allies.

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Reader Comments (21)

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He had imagined himself adored. Such a hero. I think reality is knocking, and having crossed the line of no return, in adult world, he now realizes he was a fool. Too late now. Marine brigs are not Disneyland. If there were any basis to his claims of cruelty than someone other than the disinformation network (MSNBC), would be reporting the story.

Manning betrayed his country; that's the bottom line. His supporters should consider it an act of mercy that the government will not press for the death penalty. Anyone who's held a secret or top secret clearance knows what the consequences are for violating their oath and aiding the enemies of the United States. There's no way anyone should feel sorry for this traitor.

So this is what now happens to whistleblowers. What I wouldn't give to see this kid get cut loose, and have every single one of these bigots and teabagging dipwads in this comments section take his place on the shooting squad line.

Posted By: So this is what now happens to whistleblowers. What I wouldn't give to see this kid get cut loose, | March 04, 2011 at 10:01 AM

Half the comments here assume that Manning is guilty, and his manner of confinement is well deserved. Fortunately, that is not the way our justice system works. Just because the marines think he is guilty does not make it so, and what they are doing is a disgrace to the American system of justice. You can be a traitor by giving away our secrets, or by violating the basic rights that America stands for. Which is worse?

what a crime to treat a traitor like this. I get tears, if he would have gone through the TSA harassment screening treatment at the airport it would have been worse. This guy should be treated for high treason. Stop whining lefties and you senseless lawyers.

Meanwhile, the head of the MI6, Britain's CIA, is crediting WikiLeaks with sparking the massive freedom revolution in the Arab world. So much for Assange and Manning being Public Enemy #1 - unless you are on the side of the dictators, that is.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/04/mi6_dearlove_wikileaks/

Meanwhile, the head of the MI6, Britain's CIA, is crediting WikiLeaks with sparking the massive freedom revolution in the Arab world. So much for Assange and Manning being Public Enemy #1 - unless you are on the side of the dictators, that is.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/04/mi6_dearlove_wikileaks/

It's a proven fact that Bush and Cheney committed war crimes and both have admitted to torture and in a round-about way admitted to the fabricated "intelligence" to start the Iraq war. Both are "wanted" for war crimes in numerous other countries and both cannot leave this country where they are war criminals being protected by the Republicans and now by Obama. These two have "outed" themselves.
Now comes Bradley Manning who came upon evidence of war crimes being committed by our country and that orders come from the top (which we already know). He is in prison being sensory deprived and "tortured". I'm sure he has already "cracked" but there's nothing to tell these heavy-handed torturers. It's just like water-boarding .... a person will tell any lie just to stop the torture. Our government wants Bradley Manning to say the words "Julian Assange" so they can both be made the scapegoats. Just like the poor doctor who was "suicided" and blamed for the Anthrax letters 10 years after the fact. What a sad world we are living in ... and no real honor.